Liz Ryan

Liz Ryan is a graduate student in journalism at the University of Alabama and is an Investigator with the Louisiana State University (LSU) Cold Case Project. Liz previously served as the Administrator for the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) at the U.S. Department of Justice between 2022-2025.

State

No justice in 1964 slaying by sheriff’s deputy

A 1964 Alabama shooting left four children without a father and a family still seeking accountability six decades later.

June 5, 2026

The Freedom Riders at 65

Riders endured beatings, jail and a firebombed bus in 1961, then forced federal action that helped dismantle segregation in interstate travel.

May 6, 2026

Speaking up for the Freedom Riders

Writing a 1961 editorial supporting the Freedom Riders earned a student journalist a Klan cross burning and threats of expulsion.

January 23, 2026

The killing of Sammy Younge Jr. and 60 years of civil rights activism

The 1966 slaying of Samuel Younge Jr. by a white man became a turning point for, Wendell Paris, who vowed to fight injustice forever.

January 6, 2026

The untold story of a Black WWII veteran’s lynching

In 1943, Black minister Edward Green was kidnapped, tortured and killed by white men in Alabama. No one was ever arrested.

November 11, 2025

In 1960, Auburn students reported on the beating of a Black man, despite pushback

Student journalists at The Auburn Plainsman defied university officials and threats to report on a brutal 1960 beating, facing backlash for their groundbreaking coverage.

October 16, 2025

60 years later, no justice for teen shot by Birmingham police

On September 15, 1963, a Birmingham police officer shot and killed Black teen Johnnie Robinson, a tragic event that unfolded hours after a church bombing.

June 4, 2025

The 1963 murder of Virgil Lamar Ware and a fight for remembrance

His death on September 15, 1963, was overshadowed by the church bombing, but his story is finally being told.

May 15, 2025

Rogers Hamilton: No justice for murdered Black teen

Lynched in 1957 Alabama after waving at white girls, Rogers Hamilton's murder remained unsolved for decades.

April 2, 2025

Willie Edwards Jr.: The Klan sought to erase his memory, his family made sure it endured

Ultimately, his killers were never convicted of his murder, but Wille Edwards Jr.'s memory lives on.

March 29, 2022